Barry & Hil: The Money Shot

Politico: Obama’s advance staff is very good at the visuals, and the Unity event is flawless on TV.

Even better: It’s dominating the news cycle without making any news.

And that’s one of the key things Hillary (and Bill) bring to Obama: Whenever he wants to deliver some unadulterated message to the American people, he just needs to drag one of them up on stage beside him and wait for the cameras.

Ironically, the reason the Clinton-Obama pairing is so compelling is largely because of the — vastly overplayed — notion that there’s some question of whether the Clintons really support him, whether they’ll show up, whether you’ll be able to see their fingers crossed when they’re talking. It offers an odd-couple dynamic, and a reason to tune in, for what you’re seeing today: “It’s fitting that we meet in a place called Unity.”

Obama had warm praise for her and seemed to go off his prepared remarks in a couple of places.

“She rocks. She rocks. That’s the point I’m trying to make,” he said in response to a shout from the crowd. Later, he said, “I still don’t know how she does it in heels.”